Legislation would fund flood control projects

Local leaders up and down California's flood-prone Central Valley celebrated Thursday after Congress gave final passage to a water projects bill.

"This is a major milestone in our process to get the levees repaired," Yuba City council member John Dukes said.

"More great news for Sac!" tweeted Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

The $12.3 billion bill is half the size of its last one seven years ago -- before the economy sank into a deep recession that helped swell the government's debt and before lawmakers swore off cherry-picking pet projects for folks back home.

With a 91-7 vote Thursday, the Senate passed the bill authorizing 34 new projects over the next 10 years.

The House passed it Tuesday after key lawmakers spent six months blending separate House and Senate versions approved last year.

Lawmakers said they expect President Barack Obama will sign the legislation.

The bill authorizes flood control projects for Sacramento's Natomas neighborhood, Yuba City and the Stanislaus County city of Newman.

Sacramento and Yuba City leaders, who used state and local funding to jump-start their projects, said the federal bill would help guarantee the work is completed.

The legislation also includes flood projects in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Fargo, North Dakota, and dredging and harbor expansions in Savannah, Georgia and Boston.

But it also puts an end to $18 billion in dormant projects that Congress had passed before the last round of $23.3 billion in water projects was approved in 2007.

The new measure's reduced cost reflects a conscious effort by lawmakers to rein in spending, particularly in the House, where Republicans first elected in 2010 or 2012 balked at new spending.

All of the projects included in the legislation came at the recommendation of the Army Corps of Engineers.

Some conservative and watchdog groups complained the bill was still bloated with unnecessary spending.

But it had widespread support from state and local officials and business groups like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as legislation that will produce jobs and enhance commerce.

"This is a strong, bipartisan bill," said Sen. David Vitter, R-Louisiana.

"This is a great day for the United States Senate, for every single member in this body and our states, for jobs, for business, for ecosystem restoration," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, one of the lead negotiators of the deal that led to the bill.

The seven votes against the bill were all cast by Republicans. One of those opposed, Arizona Sen. John McCain, said the bill did not do enough to rein in costs.

"It's still full of unnecessary and unwanted projects," he said.

Others who voted against it were Sens. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Mike Lee of Utah and Pat Roberts of Kansas.

Besides authorizing projects, the bill makes changes to how future projects can seek funding and sets specific time and cost limits for studies on potential projects.

It eliminates unnecessary Army Corps of Engineers reviews and speeds up environmental reviews for potential projects.

The bill also increases spending from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to pay for improvements to ports, and creates a five-year pilot program to provide loans and loan guarantees for various projects.

KCRA 3 NEWS AT 6:00 STARTS RIGHT NOW. THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA LEVEES ARE ONE STEP POSTER TO A BIG UPGRADE. CONGRESS GAVE FINAL APPROVAL TO A WATER BILL TO KEEP COMMUNITIES SAFE. IT IS ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S DESK. THE NATOMAS NEIGHBORHOOD SACRAMENTO, THE STANISLAUS COMMUNITY OF NEWMAN, AND YUBA CITY IN SUTTER COUNTY. HERE IS THE LEVEE ALONG THE FED THERE APPEARED HIM TAKE A LOOK AT HOW CLOSE THESE HOUSES ARE. PEOPLE ARE THRILLED TONIGHT. THEY KNOW THIS IS NOT THE END OF THIS FIGHT BUT A TAKE STEP TOWARD MAKING SURE DISASTER DOESN'T HAPPEN HERE AGAIN. THE BULLDOZERS AND GRADERS ARE ALREADY AT WORK AT THIS LEVEE. ONCE YOU HAVE A BREAKWATER, JUST GO THROUGH. JOHN DUQUE SAID TODAY'S FINAL VOTE BY THE U.S. CONGRESS MEANS 44 MILES OF LEVEES THAT RUN ALONG THE EASTERN BOUNDARY WILL SOON BE LESS HONORABLE TO BREAKS. ONCE A PERMIT LAYER OF CONCRETE AND MUD IS INSERTED INSIDE. THIS IS A MAJOR MILESTONE IN OUR PROCESS. THE LAST TIME YUBA CITY LEVEES BROKE WAS CHRISTMAS EVE 1955. HUNDREDS HAD TO BE RESCUED BY HELICOPTER. OR THAN THREE DOZEN PEOPLE DIED. -- MORE THAN THREE DOZEN PEOPLE DIED. THE WATER GOT UP TO OUR FRONT PORCH. WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE. THE BILL PASSED WITH BIPARTISAN SUPPORT AND SENATE. REPUBLICANS WHO HAD THREATENED TO BLOCK THE BILL SAID IT WAS BECAUSE IT WAS DRAWN UP BY ENGINEERS. FOR JOBS, FOR BUSINESS, FOR ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION. PRESIDENT OBAMA IS EXPECTED TO SIGN THIS WATER BILL. IT DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY OF THE $12 BILLION NEEDED TO FUND THESE PROJECTS. THAT WILL REQUIRE A FUTURE BILL. THE LOCAL LEADERS SEEM CONFIDENT THAT, GIVEN THE BROAD BIPARTISAN SUPPORT, THEY WILL GET THAT BILL AND SIGNED AS WELL. THERE WERE SOME NAMES. SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN WAS ONE OF THE SEVEN SENATORS WHO VOTED AGAINST THE BILL TODAY. HE SAID HE FELT MANY OF THESE PROJECTS ARE STILL UNNECESSARY AND UNWANTED. SOME ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS EXPRESSED CONCERN THAT THE BUILD IS TOO MUCH TO SPEED UP THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS.

From the web

Federal agents searched three dozen homes Tuesday in California during a crackdown on so-called maternity tourism operators who arrange for pregnant Chinese women to give birth in the U.S., where their babies automatically become American citizens.